Inextricably Tied - Aveda Vice
This is the second book in the Lost Touch Duet and picks up a few months after the events of the first book. While the first novella isn't entirely necessary to read prior to this novel, I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend. Inextricably Tied follows Harbinger (banshee) and Flint (gargoyle) as they agree to help find the remains of a serial killer with help from a night terror named Agony who was extracted from the mind of the killer. As the three spend more time together, their connections change and they'll each have to confront parts of their pasts long buried in order to uncover the truth. This was spectacular! I love Vice's character work and how much depth and character growth they're able to fit in these stories. I also love the amount of lore and world building Vice is able to weave into the story from pretty early on without being an info-dump. We know the details we need to know for this story, but no real extra fluff is added in which really helped me focus on these characters and this story. The relationship development between the three characters was really interesting and I loved the aspect of having a lot of physical connection but really struggling to open up emotionally. Agony wasn't in the first novella so I wasn't sure how adding in a third would work out but Vice did a fantastic job of slowly bringing Agony into the already established relationship between Harbinger and Flint in a really believable way. The romantic suspense elements were a little weak for me and there were times where I almost forgot about it altogether. I think because the serial killer was in custody already and our characters were looking for evidence of his past crimes, that there wasn't as high of stakes as I would have liked in a romantic suspense book. That being said, the third act really picks up and shifts to being more focused on the serial killer case (which is also when the stakes get heightened as well).
Kinks and Content Information/Warnings are on Vice's website
Thanks to Aveda Vice for the ARC. Publication date was July 8, 2022
A Line in the Sand - Teri Wilson
This is the second book in the Turtle Beach series and follows marine biologist, Max, and local mermaid, Molly. Max has recently taken over for his uncle in the local aquarium and turtle hospital but his no-nonsense attitude doesn't exactly fit in with the colorful local characters. What starts out as a potential meet-cute with Molly rescuing Max from a strong rip tide takes a turn for the worse as Max fires Molly from her job as aquarium mermaid the next day. However, in a small town like Turtle Beach, the two can't seem to keep away from each other for very long (and it doesn't help that the other townsfolk are not so subtly scheming to get them together). I thought this was a really cute read and I loved the whole town. It toed the line really well of being too overly cutesy and I think the more fantastical side of things stayed well grounded (such as Molly being a professional mermaid but also working on getting a grant for the aquarium). I loved the characters and found them to be believably flawed which, again, helped this not feel like too fluffy of a read. My one issue with the book was how Molly and Max's relationship progressed. This is a slow burn, low heat book (we only get a kiss at around the 80% mark). I really enjoyed the build up to this slow burn and Wilson has some absolutely fantastic moments of sexual tension where I was mentally screaming at the book to just let these two kiss already. However, the progression was very much a two steps forward, one step back sort of push/pull which made it feel overly repetitive. It just felt like Max and Molly would keep running into a problem, get over it, move a little forward, then have some sort of communication breakdown and be back at square one.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC
Expected publication date is August 2, 2022
The Sizzle Paradox - Lily Menon
This friends to lovers romance follows grad students Lyric and Kian. Lyric is studying sexual chemistry in romantic partners to try and crack the code to long-term happiness in partnerships. She has the data, the interviews, and a year before she has to defend her thesis. Only problem is that she doesn't have a personal connection to the data since her own romantic relationships were always lacking in one aspect or another. Her best friend and roommate, Kian, has the opposite problem - he has no problem talking to women or getting into a relationship but he always leaves before things get too serious. With her thesis advisor pushing to see some progress from her, Kian agrees to teach Lyric his methods for attracting a partner and she'll work on setting him up with women outside of his usual type. What neither of them expect is for the lessons to feel so real and for their perfect match to be their best friend all along. This was cute, but overall I found it a little lacking in chemistry. Friends to lovers is a real solid trope that I almost always enjoy and there were some really great moments of that dynamic in this story. However, those moments were then undercut by some underdevelopment of the characters and their relationship. Lyric and Kian seem to be constantly reminding everyone in their lives (and, thus, the reader) that they're best friends and would never work out as a couple but they never really get into specifics. Their communication style was also odd because they didn't seem to have problems discussing anything in the beginning but then once they started to develop feelings, they could barely speak a few words to the other one. For pretty much the last half of the book, they were in some weird holding pattern where they both recognized their feelings but were so determined to not ruin the friendship that they wouldn't even give a hint that they were actually attracted to the other one. That being said, when they did open up and give into their feelings, it was really cute and I really liked them together.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC. Publication date was June 28, 2022
The Hookup Plan - Farrah Rochon
This is the third book in The Boyfriend Project series and follows pediatric surgeon London and millionaire Drew. The two reconnect at their high school reunion and after some reminiscing about how they were enemies back in the day, they end up in bed together. London is in need of a way to de-stress from her job and Drew is in town temporarily so the two agree to a hookup arrangement. Only problem is that Drew ends up being head of the team auditing London's hospital and he's dead set on showing her that he can be more than just a hookup. But with their past and having to make a big decision about her future, London isn't sure falling for her hookup is part of the plan. I really loved this book and I thought London and Drew were perfection. I loved how easily their history was worked into the story without having a bunch of flashbacks or info-dump sessions. I also found the way these adult characters acted now that they're back together was more accurate than I think some other stories with similar premise would have. Sure, there was a good amount of verbal sparring at the beginning, but it wasn't like these two very professional adults fully regressed back to their high school selves. Their chemistry together was off the charts, even in the non-sexual scenes where it just really felt like they were in sync all the time. My one complaint is that it did feel like the story got bogged down in all the hospital auditing plot points. I get that the hospital is the biggest thing in London's life, but I think some of the scenes could have been condensed a bit and we still would have gotten the same idea. There was also a big reveal in regards to this plot point at the end and I really wanted to see the fall out of that reveal but it was sort of swept aside.
TW/CW: cancer (pediatric and adult), death of a parent (in recent past), narcissistic parent, pediatric surgery, domestic violence (in past)
Thanks to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the ARC
Expected publication date is August 2, 2022
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